Sunday, March 20, 2011

Inquisition - Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm

Black metal can be hit or miss with me. This one is hit and miss. Stylistically, it's my kind of black metal. No keyboards. It's got nice, long, well-composed songs that don't just bury the listener in blastbeats. The songs have texture. They aren't monochromatic. They ebb and flow and breathe. As the title suggests, it's ominous and mystical. I think it's a fantastic of musicianship and songwriting ability. That's the hit part.
The miss part is the vocals. I don't know if it's all natural or computer assisted but in either case, it sounds like someone is choking a frog. Could be the strangest vocals I've ever heard. Not really my thing. However, they're not quite a dealbreaker. While they're aren't my favourite, they do fit with the music for the most part. I can't help but wonder what it would sound like with a more traditional vocal style.
Overall, it's a pretty good traditional, keyboard free, black metal album with weird vocals.